The case began when Sergeant Christian DeJohn, a graduate student at Temple University and member of the Army National Guard, sued Temple University and its officials in federal court. Christian argued that Temple’s policies infringed upon his First Amendment rights by allowing for the possibility of punishment for protected speech.

After the ruling, FIRE sent out warnings to all of the schools FIRE rates as Red Light schools in the Third Circuit, making them aware of the decision. As Will said at the time: "These schools must understand that if these restrictions are challenged in court, they will fail, and that they have both a legal and a moral duty to their students and faculty to dismantle these speech codes."

Unfortunately, the impact of the ruling on Sergeant DeJohn’s academic career has been less decisive. Temple continues to refuse to review his master’s thesis, so despite his completion of all other requirements, he remains unable to graduate. FIRE strongly believes that Temple should end the vindictive treatment of DeJohn and agree to review his thesis, allowing his progress towards his degree to continue at long last.